Shoes are produced and typically shipped in paperboard cartons for transportation and sale. Typically, shoe cartons are stacked; and so to protect the shoes from getting crushed, many producers insert paper wadding, molded pulp shapes, or other combinations of materials to maintain the form factor of the shoe. If the shoes are not filled, then during long shipping cycles the shoes will take or form memory in various shapes that will not meet the consumer esthetics when they try on the shoes. The use of molded pulp or crumpled paper not only is used as filler to retain the shape but it has no memory and can be crushed during transportation and storage. These materials also do not have the consumer appeal and marketing that shoe companies are after today. They also carry extra weight and cost when used as a filler. Recently, alternatives have come to market such as blow molded shapes made to try to fill out the cavity of the shoe to maintain the shape, but they do not have the ability to cover a range of sizes without individual forms being made. Also, some inflated products have been inserted into boots to keep the calf portion of the boot upright and reduce wrinkles or folds in the leather. Combinations of paper, molded pulp and paper sticks have also been used. An improved protective shoe insert is thus desired.